SERENDIPIDOUS MOMENTS

Time has a way of grabbing you. Some of the best effects in my life have been the result of serendipity.
Through the years, I have learned of the sufficiency of Christ and the cross.
Knowing the God of ALL ages has made every moment a serendipidous wonder, yes a wonder to what else life holds for me next and a wonder that he even cares for me.
I am not 50 anymore, or 60, but rapidly approaching 70, but God does not go by age.  The reality is, I've had more miles behind me than ahead of me on this earth, however, it turns out that my years are based on God's purpose in those years--and my willingness to walk those miles for his purpose.  I used to think of "the best years" more or less existed either in the past or some in unattainable future dreams and life yet to come.

Hunter S. Thompson said it better than I ever could: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”  To God be the glory.
I am finding that life is still bombarding me with lessons.  You never know when family and friends you thought would be there forever will be or are gone.  You always believe that your children will out live you.

"Time is my most valuable asset. I only get so much, and that is it. I can’t horde it. I can’t get it back. I can’t turn back the clock. The best I can do is to start investing my time wisely."  ~Anon quote but slightly edited by me.
Comfort is overrated. Most of my life's growth points have taken place at the edges of comfort zones, those times when my security and comfort have been challenged.
The cool thing about life's serendipitous moments is that they come through other people.
Just the other day one of those moments was cause for temporary wonder and amusement.
Instead of walking up the stairs to the next floor, I chose to use the elevator.  The elevator was taking longer than its usual time as I waited impatiently.  I had taken a brief break from the meeting I was attending and did not want to miss more than I had to.
  Once the elevator arrived, its jam-packed passengers began to disembark. I backed away to give them room not expecting it to be filled on a Saturday but everyone was dressed like Sunday.  They were all ladies headed for a luncheon or tea.  One lady greeted me by name, leaving me to wonder if I knew her or she me and where would I have met her as I had no clue who she was and how she knew my name.  I pondered on that fact all the way to the next floor, headed back to the meeting and then it dawned on me that I had my name tag on.
If you have experienced serendipitous moments in life events, you know how powerful such an experience can have.
If you have a grand toddler, then you may have experienced many such micro events.  When a grand calls airplanes, hairplanes and volcanoes, canos, and your other grand adds Whoa to his repertoire and don't see a horse, then serendipity occurs.
 So many times we go on with our days experiencing these moments but hardly take the time to later reflect on the feeling these moments gave.
Every time I meet someone and then later that someone has become an important someone in my life, I think on first serendipitous moments of that friendship.
The point of noticing, tracking and posting those stumbled upon moments as I found myself doing last Saturday turned an ordinary part of my day into that serendipity moment instead of just letting them pass by. 
 SERENDIPITY, what a wonderful word!
 "It’s the unanticipated discovery of something very pleasant, the happy accident, the valuable thing that you stumble upon when you’re looking for something completely different."

I love that word, those moments for its surprise, the discovery while doing something totally unrelated.  You can't plan it.  It sneaks up on you when you're not looking for it.  Those moments do not just come by chance.  The exciting part is that these moments of serendipity will continue to pop up in daily life.  They are all orchestrated by God.

THE COST OF JOURNEYING

 “One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.”   E.E.

June 2,1962, Zempoala River, Pue.

When my life is over, and my specific assignments are completed, my hope is that I have left evidence of a legacy left behind to the next generation for God's glory.
In 1956, there was wide press coverage of Jim Elliot's death, one of four other missionaries, tragically killed at the hands of the Auca Indians in Ecuador.  I was 7rs. old at the time and recall the somber climate of the missionary adults around me.
Having just experienced a few years earlier, Dad's traveling companion's martyrdom, was still on their minds.
Whether these incidents impacted my life to follow Jesus is left to conjecture but what really catapulted my journey was the death of one of my classmates that same year and later a childhood friend killed in a car accident shy of high school graduation guided my future choices.

Remember those photo booths?,age 7

The cost of journeying through life is great at times and through this I have gleaned amazing nuggets from my experiences.
 Elisabeth Elliot, a woman of great influence in my life through her lectures and writings has used her life walk through to further my growth.  Her nuggets of truth have impacted me in ways I could not possibly imagine.  Those timeless nuggets still tug at my soul.
What endeared me to her was her "blunt — not ungracious, not impetuous, not snappy or gruff.  But direct, unsentimental, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is, no whining allowed."

I admired the vintage in her.  She believed in asking of herself, "Is this God's will for me, right now, in this place?"
Even toward the end of her life, she handled ten years of dementia just as she had with other potential disasters.
  “She accepted those things, [knowing] they were no surprise to God,” her husband, Gren said. “It was something she would rather not have experienced, but she received it.”
A powerful continuous message to me, to accept what is now my season of life.  I find myself rediscovering her nuggets of wisdom in an attempt to gain insight to my steps of surrender on my continuing journey in life.
 
"Many, O Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;  were
I to speak and tell of them, they 
would be too many to declare." Ps.40:5

AVOID POISON ENVY

I don’t really want to write about what is really bothering me, because then, I would be held accountable.

FOCUSING

BUT...this is what is on my mind today.
 This Wednesday, I am focusing on an aspect of my life that I am not proud of.
 I  often feel disappointed over the path I sometimes find myself walking.  It’s not a simple journey.
No one has ever asked me if I’m jealous.  I am jealous of "normal" people.  I seriously wonder what normal is because normal isn't my today.
Very seldom do my plans go like I would want them to go, my WAY.
Sanctified living is not the presence of "normal". 
I'm finding it's the ability and strength in the absence of "normal" to lean desperately on Jesus.

There are corners in life that make me envious.  I struggle at times with covetousness.  I look at someone else's life, assume they have something better , assume it would be good for me, assume it would deliver different results for me.  However, my assumptions are later laid aside as I realize that God has my "normal" all planned out totally different from someone else's "normal".
  I occasionally feel pangs of jealousy toward healthy people.  Gone are the days when my thoughts were not consumed with anguished thoughts of health and the physical mental and discomfort they bring.
On other occasions, the whispers of my heart carry envy toward those who appear more spiritual.

NORMAL?

To my shame, I don't like to admit it, but sometimes when someone else gets something that I have wanted, as much as I feel genuinely happy for a friend, that finger of jealousy pokes into my being, disturbing my contentment and joy.  Those seasons of blessings for friends sometimes don't look like blessings for me.

Don't keep your JOY out of reach.

Scriptures speak much about these issues
 Proverbs 14:30 “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”

Job 5:2 “Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.”

Mark 7:21-22 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.”
 
 Tim Challies accurately describes envy:

"Who is Envy?
 What does Envy do?
 How do we define Envy?
 Something like this: Envy makes you feel resentment or anger or sadness because another person has something or another person is something that you want for yourself.
 Envy makes you aware that another person has some advantage, some good thing, that you want for yourself and, while he’s at it, he makes you want that other person not to have it.

"ENVY ROTS THE BONES"

This means that there are at least three evil components to Envy: the deep discontent that comes when you see that another person has what you want; the desire to have it for yourself; and the desire for it to be taken from him.
It’s crucial to understand that Envy flows out of Pride."

 C.S. Lewis says, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others.”

BUSTED!

  Jealousy and envy have exposed my heart loyalties, acting against God by resenting him because I have determined in my mind that I deserve better.  Oh, God forgive me!
 

SUNDAY'S STROLLER WARS

Grace & Peace

Sunday morning,  Sunday mornings are important to us. Today's clouds  shroud unforgettable Sunday moments.

 Sunday mornings are important because my, mind and soul need time to refresh, to let go, to enjoy friendships, to be refreshed by God's Word.  To me, Sunday mornings are sort of like a party, an adventure.
It's not to difficult to walk through a Sunday morning without noticing anything, to think and to ponder, anything short of amazing.

The "J" tree

  Sundays create opportunity, setting the stage for a new week.
Sunday speaks volumes, enjoying pleasures of reconnecting with friends not seen in the last week.
It's always comforting to know that God's Word will be taught.

It is an effort to get ready to go to church on Sunday mornings.  I fight thoughts to snuggle deeper under the covers but know if I do it will be that much harder to rise.  I rejoice in that I did get up and got going.
We tend to be creatures of habit and join our parking mates.  My thoughts drift off to the blessings of greeting one in a car near by.  We have known each other for years.  We briefly chat about health, family, and grandchildren, then part ways.

STROLLER PARKING

 Every stroller has a story to tell and it is awesome to see so many young families attending, all eager to learn from God's Word.
I love my church.

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere..."
  Psalm 84:8

A GLOOMY SUNDAY

It has been an overcast day since the moment I awoke.

The sky has been awash with various shades of lighter grey, with slightly detectable chinks of light,

Our favorite spot, next to the "J" tree

however, the gloom of the day was not reflective of my mood or that of those making their way to worship.
I glance at the clock, I have time to contemplate this peaceful interlude between arriving and worship.  There is an inner sense of a calm moment of reflection and gratitude.  The kind of serenity that only God can give.
 My eye lids are heavy as I fight the urge for a quick nap.  My two am yogurt rendezvous is catching up with me and the coffee's magic elixir has not taken affect.

  The parking lot is a bevy of activity as spaces quickly disappear.  My eyes jerk open as I spy the canary yellow Mustang followed by a Hyundai make an entrance, circle the lot and then make a hasty exit in search of a spot, the lot is full.
My otherwise amoral thoughts drift back to the late 1960's, my senior year of high school precisely.  All of my crushes, yes all three of them drove a Chevy Corvair, a somewhat cross between a Porsche and VW Beetle with a rear engine.  Some called it the "poor man's Porsche.

VALERIE with two little friends, camping

  They loved to show off and one day, I sitting in a rear seat of a two door, no seat belts, almost ended up in the ditch after skidding sideways along the gravel edge scaring the bejeebies out of me.
 Years later around 1972, I bought my first car, a 1966 Plymouth Valiant, for $300 only to have my husband years later total it.  It was a sad day when Valerie was towed away.
 The much celebrated, Mothers Day colors the day. Stroller parking is at a premium, the presence of many young mothers brave enough to weather all obstacles.  Strollers line the hallway, strollers line Grace Walk, strollers line outside the nursery, strollers everywhere! 

It is an incredible sight, signs of growth in keeping with today's sermon, Galatians 5:16-26.  
Behind each of those strollers is someone walking, either walking in the flesh or walking in the Spirit.  "By their fruit you will know them."  Christ demands and commands us to obey.
KEEP WALKING, KEEP WALKING!
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

THE LAST DOLLAR

 “God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply.” - J. Hudson Taylor

College Years

I felt as dark and dismal as the rain around me.  My finances were low and I had just spent my last dollar to attend a concert and I was homeless.

God in His sovereignty had already made plans.  
 Matthew 6:8. “. . .  for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”
   I was soon moving into a large gorgeous Victorian type house with the Alumni Secretary of the school to assist in the care of her mother who had Alzheimer's.
 Mornings were spent at the house in exchange for board, room, and a small salary.  I attended classes in the afternoons and evenings.
 Contrary to popular misconception, it is God who controls all finances. Many Christians say "God is sovereign and in control of everything", but actions and attitudes toward money prove differently.

I have lived most of my life in a context of financial deprivation but living in a context of abundance.

We too seldom  bring God into the equation.
Twenty years as home missionaries became our faith stretching years.  Living financially lean years has become a tool for maturity and growth.  I must confess, I still need a lot of molding as we transition to fixed income years, otherwise known as retirement.

God controls every dollar and peso. Five out of 57 years, 2005-2010

A SELFISH MINDSET

I felt incredibly unprepared. 

I had no experience or knowledge.  I found my life pulled into another dimension.
 I pause, I reflect on that diagnosis fifteen years ago.
I had just drunk three cans of soda one after another and had an incredible thirst.
  I had to let go of instant gratification, daily choices.  My now everyday choices required tremendous work and self control.
I was left to handle things that appeared to be insurmountable.  My finger tips became reluctant pincushions. Prescription meds. and paraphernalia lined the counter.
A visit to the grocery store became overwhelming and my head swirled at the decisions I had to make.  Every meal was a potential mine field.  Every mental label a "poison" to any high carbs.

It can become easy to live with a selfish mindset at this point yet I am aware that there is nothing that God is unaware of and every detail of my life has a purpose.
This "thorn in the flesh" has served as a reminder of how little I still don't understand of God and His preparing me for future events.


"To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me."
  ~Col. 1:29